David Hyde Pierce did love every moment of filming “Frasier,” but when the offer came to reprise his character Niles Crane, he balked. Why? Hint: it has nothing to do with the show.
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David Hyde – Pierce Says His Decision Not To Return For “Frasier” Reboot Isn’t Due To Hard Feelings
The Tony and Emmy-winning actor recently chatted with the Los Angeles Times about why he passed up the opportunity to reprise his popular character in the “Frasier” reboot.
As we happily learned, it wasn’t because of any hard feelings, it was simply because of his current interests and work schedule.
“I never really wanted to go back,” he told the outlet of his role as the younger brother to Kelsey Grammer‘s Dr. Frasier Crane, Nile Crane. “It’s not like I said, ‘Oh, I don’t ever want to do that again.’ I loved every moment. It was that I wanted to do other things.”
The star is gearing up to appear in the Julia Child series “Julia” and in the late Stephen Sondheim’s final work, “Here We Are.”
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Pierce further revealed that by the time “real talk” regarding the reboot started coming up, he “had just started on the Julia TV show,” along with work on two separate musicals. “I just thought, ‘I don’t want to be committed to a show and not be able to do stuff like this,’” he expressed.
Another thing that really motivated his reluctance to return was his conviction that his character wasn’t really needed. “I also thought, ‘They don’t actually need me,’” Pierce said. “Frasier has moved on to a new world. They have new characters. And I think I’m right. It’s doing great. And the new people they have are great.”
Even though we don’t get to see Niles in the show, his presence is still felt in many ways. For one, Anders Keith played David Crane, Frasier’s nephew, who was born to Niles and Daphne during the original run’s series finale.
Kelsey Grammer – Says David Hyde Pierce’s Decision Not To Return Shifted the Show’s Storyline
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In his latest chat with The Hollywood Reporter, Grammer revealed that his former cast mates’ failure to return changed the course of the story.
“I had tried to get everybody back because that’s what I thought was the right and faithful thing to do. I wanted to remain faithful to them,” he said. “But them not wanting to do it was fine. Certainly, their choice. Actually, it led us to some choices that we wouldn’t have done, probably, and I was very happy that we did them. I’m very happy that we ended up in Boston. That never would’ve happened if the rest of the cast had come back.”
Be sure to catch up on everything happening with “Frasier” right now. Come back here often for all “Frasier” spoilers, news, and updates.
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